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Israeli PM approves plans for military operation in Rafah, Gaza

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Benjamin Netanyahu

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, and the army is operationally preparing for it and for the evacuation of residents,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement without providing further details.

Hamas has announced on social media that it had presented its “vision” of a prisoner swap with Israel to Qatari and Egyptian mediators and was looking towards a ceasefire agreement which would involve the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from the besieged enclave.

As reported by Reuters, which has seen the proposal, Hamas proposed the release of Israeli women, including female soldiers, children, the elderly and ill hostages, in exchange for Israel freeing between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Once the prisoner exchange is complete, Hamas added it would be ready to negotiate a date for a permanent ceasefire.

Tel Aviv, however, dismissed the proposal and accused Hamas of making “unrealistic demands”.

On Thursday, Netanyahu also reiterated Israel’s determination to complete its mission of “eliminating” Hamas.

Several countries have warned Israel against carrying out a military operation in Rafah, which houses more than 1.4 million Palestinians, according to international reports.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

At least 31,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 73,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Putin claims ‘neo-Nazi Kiev regime’ tried to disrupt Russian elections

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Russia Election

The president made the remarks on Friday during a meeting with permanent members of the Russian National Security Council. Putin condemned the efforts made by Kiev to disrupt the ongoing election, vowing retaliation for the attacks.

In order to disrupt the voting process and intimidate people, at least in the regions bordering Ukraine, the Kiev neo-Nazi regime has conceived and is trying to carry out a series of “demonstrative criminal armed actions”, Putin stated.

The effort includes continuous indiscriminate drone and artillery strikes, as well as a concentrated effort to breach the country’s border, launched by Ukrainian forces earlier this week, the president explained, describing Kiev’s actions as “senseless from the military, and criminal from a humanitarian standpoint”.

The escalation may also be used as a PR stunt for Kiev to show the Ukrainian public and its Western backers some military gains, Putin suggested.

As for trying to intimidate the Russian people, the Ukrainian leadership will never achieve such a goal, with the country’s people responding to such actions only with “further consolidation”, he added.

“Another possible goal of such actions is to divert the attention of their own people and the public in other countries, whom the Kiev regime is trying to beg for money and all sorts of handouts, to divert attention from the real situation on the front line,” the president stated.

According to Moscow’s estimates, the Ukrainian military has deployed over 2,500 servicemen, some 35 tanks and around 40 other armored vehicles to attack multiple locations along the border, Putin noted. All the attacks have been repelled, with the Ukrainians sustaining heavy personnel and material casualties.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also told Sputnik unfriendly countries have tried to do everything to disrupt the process of voting of Russians abroad in the presidential election but they have failed.
The spokeswoman was asked about the decrease in the number of polling stations abroad.

“But in terms of the number of [polling] stations, there are indeed significantly less this time. For one simple reason: these are precisely the actions of those very unfriendly regimes that are doing everything in order to prevent, disrupt, intimidate our citizens, and exert political pressure but they see no success,” Zakharova said.

The extent to which US media has become fixated on the Russian presidential election is bizarre given the distance between the two countries and the differences in their historical trajectories, the spokeswoman highlighted.

Zakharova pointed out the attention with which US television channels are following the election in Russia adding that the US media appeared unable to wean themselves from the old narratives that Moscow allegedly influences presidential elections in the US.

“They really treat our elections as if we are electing both our president and a person who will also be governing the US, just a little. That is how they present it, anyway,” she added.

Virtually every US broadcaster has slotted time to cover the Russian presidential election daily for several month, according to the spokeswoman.
“I have not a single example of this happening to countries that are located on different continents and do not have common [land] borders or any obvious mutual influence of electoral cycles. There are countries that were previously united by a common state space or some historical space, and indeed, there may be some connections there. But nothing like that connects us with the US,” Zakharova continued.

Iran FM: Fighting Islamophobia collective effort by Islamic ummah

By
Emad Askarieh
-
Hossein Amirabdollahian

The top Iranian diplomat made the remarks on the  occasion of March 15 marking the International Day of Fighting Islamophobia.

Amirabdollahian posted a message on X, saying divine and humane teachings of the merciful religion of Islam have always been threatened by the conspiring policies of the global arrogance.

He added, the global arrogance has exerted all its evil powers to  portray a distorted and false picture of Islam and depict the religion and Muslims as a threat before the public opinion of other nations.

This is while, said Amirabdollahian, that the Islamic faith has always promoted and pushed for peace, friendship, kindness and peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among mankind and followers of all divine religions.

The Iranian foreign minister pointed out fighting Islamophobia is a collective effort by the Muslim ummah with the aim of effective deterrence against seditious currents that oppose lasting peace and security.

Former Iranian footballer Mehdi Mahdavikia in Hamburger SV Team of Century

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Mahdavi Kia

Mahdavikia is one of the best legionnaires in the history of Iranian football who played for Hamburg FC for many years and managed to make significant achievements with this German club.

Now Mahdavikia had posted a story on Instagram, announcing that he has been included in the German club’s century team.

Mahdavikia’s nickname in Hamburg is The Carpet (der Teppich) which was given to him for his ability to “magically glide past” his opponents.

During his professional career, he was known for his crossing, speed and dribbling.
Mehdi’s greatest national team match, arguably, was against South Korea in the 2004 Asia Cup where he assisted three goals in Iran’s 4–3 win.

Many also point to his dynamic game against the USA in World Cup 1998 that saw him score Iran’s second and winning goal, as his best ever.

Another match in which he scored two great goals was against China in the qualification round for the 1998 World Cup when he was just 20 years old.

UN estimates nearly 23mn tonnes of debris spread across Gaza Strip due to war

By
IFP Media Wire
-
Gaza War

This rubble – along with unexploded munitions – will take years to clear, estimates the UN.

While the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is working with mine action partners to assess the threat of unexploded ordnance in the enclave, “response efforts have been hampered by restrictions on the import of humanitarian mine action supplies and authorization requirements on the deployment of specialized personnel”.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

At least 31,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and 73,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

US announces more sanctions on Israeli settlers in West Bank amid violence against Palestinians

By
IFP Media Wire
-
West Bank

The latest sanctions follow an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last month aimed at targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank whom he said undermined stability in the area.

State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said that “since the horrific terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, violence in the West Bank has increased sharply”.

“Today, we are taking further action to promote accountability for those perpetuating violence and causing turmoil in the West Bank by imposing sanctions on three Israeli individuals and two associated entities involved in undermining stability in the West Bank.”

Miller reiterated the US position that there is “no justification for extremist violence against civilians or forcing families from their homes, whatever their national origin, ethnicity, race, or religion.”

One of the individuals sanctioned, Moshe Sharvit, “repeatedly harassed, threatened, and attacked Palestinian civilians and Israeli human rights defenders in the vicinity of MOSHES FARM, an outpost in the West Bank”, a fact sheet from the State Department added.

A settlement that was sanctioned, Zvis Farm, “perpetrates violence against Palestinians and prevents local Palestinian farmers from accessing and using their lands”, according to the document.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated that the US Treasury Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank was “further proof that the US government does not understand who is the enemy and who is a friend”.

About 500,000 Israeli Jewish settlers live in the West Bank according to Peace Now, an Israeli rights and monitoring group. Many settlements are heavily guarded, fenced-off areas that are off-limits to Palestinians.

Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law and Israel has been criticized for allowing their expansion.

Back in early February, the United States imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, accusing them of undermining stability and security in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

People in Iran’s north welcoming Nowruz 

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
People in Iran's north welcoming Nowruz

The new Persian year, Nowruz, starts on Wednesday March 20.

More in pictures:

 

Iran’s Taekwondo athlete Nematzadeh books Olympics berth

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-
Mobina Nematzadeh

18-year-old Nematzadeh beat Ana Da Costa Da Silva Pinto Belo of East Timor in the -49kg category and in the final match defeated Japan’s Ruka Okamoto to secure the place at the Olympics.

Nematzadeh was the 15th Iranian athlete to find her way to the Paris Olympics.

Nahid Kiani and Mehran Barkhordari, two other Taekwondo athletes, had earlier received the thumbs up for the Olympic Games.

The 2024 Summer Olympics, is scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 Auguest in Paris.

Iran gets Family Health Project approved by WHO

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Einollahi, who is on a trip in Kazakhstan to take part in a meeting of health ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, announced the news on Friday.

Based on the nationwide initiative, individuals are assigned a file based on their national code, and family doctors record the patients’ medical conditions to be used for specialized care, if necessary.

Addressing the health ministers in the Kazakh capital Astana, Einollahi highlighted Iran’s achievements1 in providing healthcare to Iranians as a model that can be replicated in other countries.

Access to clean water and healthcare are among the central priorities in this scheme.

Meanwhile, the Iranian health minister said after the event that the SCO member states welcome greater academic cooperation with Iran as well as synergy in the fields of medicine and medical equipment.

Iranian envoy: Baku to reopen embassy in Tehran soon

By
IFP Editorial Staff
-

Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday that an Azerbaijani delegation is in Tehran to expedite the preparations for resumption of the embassy’s activities.

Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran was closed after an armed assault on January 27, 2023 that led to the death of one of the embassy staff and the injury of two other personnel.

Mousavi said the armed attack was ‘very bitter’ but the evidence and the subsequent trial and the confession by the assailant proved that there were personal incentives behind the incident.

Citing the rich historical backgrounds of both countries and the deep cultural and emotional relations between the people on both sides of the 800-kilometer joint border, the Iranian envoy said, “Both countries tried to overcome the cold stage with wisdom, tactfulness, and resourcefulness to open a new page in bilateral relations.”

The assailant, identified as Yassin Hosseinzadeh, entered Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran with a firearm and started shooting, which left the head of the security service of the embassy killed and two embassy guards wounded.

After the assailant was arrested by the police, he claimed that his wife visited the embassy the year before and never returned.

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